Pill cup

ABSTRACT

A drinking cup having an interior pill shelf with passages to allow liquid in the cup when drunk, to flow through the shelf and carry the pill with it into the mouth. A separate pill box is attached to the outside of the cup wall for carrying pills to be taken at a later time.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to a drinking cup provided with a support uponwhich one or more pills may be placed and which allows the liquid in thecup to wash through the support and sweep the pill or pills into themouth and down the esophagus as the liquid is drunk from the cup. Thecup may include a pill box removably mounted in the cup side wall, andthe box may be opened and closed either while attached to or removedfrom the side wall.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The pill cup of the present invention includes as one aspect of theinvention, a shelf assembly disposed in the cup above the normal fillline thereof, and the shelf has a flow path that allows liquid to flowthrough the shelf and pick up one or more pills disposed on it andcausing the pill(s) to flow into the mouth of the person while drinkingthe liquid in the cup. The shelf assembly in the preferred embodimenthas an inverted funnel-like extension beneath the pill support thatcommunicates with the support to direct the liquid toward the pill andwash it into the mouth with the liquid.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the shelf assemblyis formed as a separate part that snaps into place on the inner surfaceof the cup side wall.

As another aspect of the present invention, a pill box is providedattached to the cup and isolated from any liquid contained in the cup sothat pills may be stored in the box.

In accordance with yet another aspect of this invention, a pill boxattached to the cup is especially shaped so that it provides a supportthat may be engaged when the cup is held in the hand to enhance the gripon the cup by a person using it. As another aspect of the invention, thepill box can be opened and closed both when mounted on the cup and whenremoved from it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pill cup and cover embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the cup with the cover removedshowing the pill shelf on the interior side wall of the cup;

FIG. 2A is a bottom perspective view of the cup with the lid removed;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the pill cup taken alongsection line 3-3 of FIG. 2, and showing a pill box mounted in the cupside wall;

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but with the pillshelf assembly and pill box removed;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the cup with the pill shelfassembly removed and viewed from below;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG. 4 with theshelf assembly viewed from above;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cup with the pill box in place inthe cup wall and with the pill box cover open;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cup with the pill box removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carriedout in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology used hereinis for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,”“containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof herein, is meant toencompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well asadditional items.

The embodiment of the pill cup 10 of the present invention illustratedin the drawings has a side wall 12, bottom wall 14 and removable lid 16,all of which may be made of plastic, glass, or other similar materialand in the preferred form, it is constructed as a reusable cup, but theinvention may be embodied in a disposable cup as well. In the embodimentshown, the side wall 12 is generally frusto-conical in shape, but itshould be appreciated that the cup may be of other shapes as well, suchas with the side wall composed of a plurality of flat segments defininga polygon in cross-section. The cup 12 and lid 16 may typically be madeof plastic as described more fully below. The lid 16 is designed tocooperate with the rim 18 of the cup to form an effective seal.

The embodiment of the invention shown includes a shelf structure 20 inthe cup that defines a pill support 22 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). The cup 10carries a pill box 24 that preferably is detachable from the cup 12 soas to accommodate washing. The pill box 24 is detachably mounted in aslot 26 formed in the cup side wall 12. The slot 26 does not interruptthe integrity of the side wall as the slot is formed as a cavity in theside wall outer surface. The pill box 24 has a hinged door 28 attachedto the body portion 30 of the pill box, and the door 28 has a snap-fitwith the body portion 30 so that it will snap closed and retain pills inthe box interior 32. The snap fit is achieved by the lip 32 on the dooredge 34 and rib 36 on the top of the box. The door 28 is connected tothe bottom 37 of box 24 by hinge 38.

The pill box 24 may be used to store pills to be taken at a later time.The pill box may be loaded either while the box is disposed in the slot26 or removed from it (see FIGS. 6 and 7). The door 28 may be opened andclosed in either position. The pill box may be made of the same materialas the cup or any other material suitable for containing medication. Therecess 26 conforms to the shape of the box and is disposed in the cupwall 12 opposite the shelf structure 20 and beneath that structure, asshown in FIG. 3. Preferably the pill box does not project an appreciabledistance out of the normal contour of the side wall 12 so as not tointerfere with grasping the cup with one hand. For added comfort, thepill box 24 may be contoured so as to enhance the grip and support ofthe cup. In the embodiment shown, the upper portion 66 of the door 28extends out of the surface of the cup so as to enhance the grip on thecup. It will be appreciated that the pill box 24 may take a variety ofdifferent shapes, but should provide a storage space for pills totallyisolated from any liquid in the cup.

Preferably the side walls 27 of the pill box 24 and the walls of slot 26have complimentary ribs and grooves to hold the box in place whenattached to the cup but which allow the box to be separated from the cupwhen desired. Certain of ribs and slots may be oriented essentiallyvertically and others essentially horizontally to releasably retain thecup when pulled out the side or pulled out the bottom of the recess 26.

In accordance with another aspect of this invention, the shelf structure20 is formed separately from the cup. The structure includes a tongue 40designed as a complimentary fit to slot 42 in the side wall 12 of thecup. The tongue carries an inverted funnel-like member 44, and thenarrow end 46 of the funnel joins a ledge 48 upon which a pill or pillsto be consumed are placed (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The ledge 48 is enclosedon three sides by an upwardly extending U-shaped wall 50 whose ends 52are positioned closely adjacent the interior surface 58 of the cup sidewall, as shown in FIG. 2. The ledge 48 is composed of a series of spacedapart ribs 54 that extend from the inner surface of cup side wall to theU-shaped wall 50. It should be noted that the ends of the ribs adjacentthe upper surface area 53 together define an arc to conform to thecontour of the inner surface of the cup side wall 12. The shelf 20 andmore particularly the ledge 48 supports the pill as shown in FIGS. 2 and3, and the spaces between the ribs 54 allow water to pass through theledge and wash the pills into the mouth of a person drinking from thecup.

The tongue 40 that fits into the slot 42 in the cup side wall 12 carriesa rib 56 on its outer surface 57 that snaps into a corresponding groove61 on the inside surface 59 of the outer wall of slot 42. The snap fitof the tongue 40 in the slot holds the shelf structure securely in placeso that it will not accidentally be released. The rib and groove may bereversed and/or be formed on the inner wall of the slot 42, and othermeans may be employed to mount the shelf structure as well. The shelfstructure is not intended to be released once it is attached to the cup.It is contemplated, however, that the shape of the shelf structure maytake different shapes for different customers. For example, ledge 48 mayconform to the shape of a particular pill of a manufacturer in the eventthe cup is used as a promotional item. The lid 16 may also carry thelogo of the drug manufacturer.

In use, the cup may be filled preferably to a level below the bottomedge 60 of the funnel member 44. For convenience, a scale 62 (see FIG.5) may be molded or printed into the cup side wall to assist in fillingthe cup in the event a particular volume of liquid such as water to beconsumed with a pill is prescribed. The pill(s) to be taken is thenplaced on the ledge 48 and thereafter the liquid is drunk from the cup,normally with the lips placed on the cup rim on the side of the cupcarrying the shelf structure 20. The liquid in the cup will flow intothe funnel and directed between the ribs 54 and wash the pill sitting onthe ledge into the mouth and down the esophagus along with the liquid.

More than one pill may be placed on the ledge at the same time so thatall may be taken at once if desired.

Preferably the cup may be made of polypropylene (PP), the pill box andshelf structure of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and the lid of lowdensity polyethylene (LDPE), but many other plastic materials may beused as well. For example, the cup may be made of HDPE, the pill box ofmedium density polyethylene (MDPE), the shelf structure of MDPE, LDPE orPP, and the lid of HDPE, MDPE or PP.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications,and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Suchalterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part ofthis disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings areby way of example only.

1. A pill cup comprising a drinking container having a side wall andclosed bottom for holding a quantity of liquid to be consumed whileswallowing one or more pills, a shelf connected to the side wall on theinterior of the cup for supporting one or more pills and enabling liquidin the cup to wash the pill into the mouth when the cup is tilted andliquid is drunk from the cup and for supporting one or more pills abovethe level of the liquid in the cup when the cup is disposed in anupright position, and a pill box attached to the side wall of the cupwith the box interior isolated from the cup interior for storing pillsin a dry environment.
 2. The pill cup of claim 1 wherein a major portionof the box is disposed in the interior volume of the cup.
 3. The pillcup of claim 2 wherein the box defines a specially configured shape onthe exterior surface of the side wall of the cup for assisting the userin holding the cup.
 4. The pill cup of claim 1 wherein the shelf isformed with a plurality of openings assisting liquid to run through theshelf and wash the pill from the shelf into the mouth.
 5. The pill cupof claim 4 wherein an inverted funnel-like structure is disposed beneaththe shelf for directing liquid through the openings to the shelfsupporting a pill to wash the pill into the mouth as the cup is invertedto drink from it.
 6. The pill cup of claim 5 wherein the openings areformed by a plurality of spaced ribs that define the shelf.
 7. The pillcup of claim 1 wherein the pill box is disposed in the side wallopposite the shelf and below the shelf.
 8. A pill cup comprising adrinking container having a side wall and closed bottom for holding aquantity of liquid to be consumed while swallowing one or more pills,and a separately formed shelf inside the cup and disposed on the sidewall for holding one or more pills in position to be washed into themouth when liquid in the cup is drunk.
 9. The pill cup of claim 8wherein the shelf and cup are specially formed to enable the shelf to beattached to the cup side wall.
 10. The pill cup of claim 8 wherein afunnel is disposed beneath the shelf and open at the bottom fordirecting liquid onto the shelf as the cup is inverted to drink from it.11. The pill cup as defined in claim 8 wherein a pill box is attached tothe cup for storing a pill in a dry environment.
 12. The pill cup asdefined in claim 1 wherein the pill box comprises a main container andcover and is detachable from the cup.
 13. The pill cup as defined inclaim 11 wherein the cover can be opened and closed both when the box isattached and detached from the cup.
 14. The pill cup as defined in claim12 wherein a cavity is provided in the cup side wall and accessible fromthe outside of the cup for receiving the pill box.
 15. The pill cup asdefined in claim 14 wherein the box can be opened and closed both whenthe box is in or out of the cavity.
 16. The pill cup as defined in claim10 wherein a pill box is attached to the cup for storing a pill in a dryenvironment.
 17. The pill cup as defined in claim 16 wherein the covercan be opened and closed both when the box is attached and detached fromthe cup.
 18. The pill cup as defined in claim 15 wherein the cover ofthe box is hinged to the container.
 19. A pill cup comprising a drinkingcontainer having a side wall and closed bottom for holding a quantity ofliquid to be consumed while swallowing one or more pills, a shelfconnected to the side wall on the interior of the cup and having anopening there through for supporting one or more pills and enablingliquid in the cup to flow through the opening and wash the pill into themouth when the cup is tilted and liquid is drunk from the cup and forsupporting one or more pills above the level of the liquid in the cupwhen the cup is disposed in an upright position, and a flow guidedisposed below the shelf for directing liquid toward the shelf andthrough the opening when the cup is tilted to drink from it.
 20. A pillcup comprising a drinking container having a side wall and closed bottomfor holding a quantity of liquid to be consumed while swallowing one ormore pills, and a pill box attached to the side wall of the cup with thebox interior isolated from the cup interior for storing pills in a dryenvironment.